Since its establishment in 1945, the United Nations (UN) has authorised more than seventy-five peacekeeping operations (PKOs) across six continents, deploying tens of thousands of military and law enforcement personnel, diplomats, and administrative staff. Whilst traditionally delimited to ‘peacekeeping’ activities, wherein lightly-armed troops formed a physical barrier between combatants (thus allowing both national and international interlocutors time to negotiate ceasefires or peace treaties), the size and scope of PKOs has vastly expanded in recent decades. In response to this evolution and growth, a significant body of literature has emerged which seeks to assess the efficacy of UN interventions. Yet, little consensus exists concerning how to determine a mission’s success, and what variables should be measured and controlled for in doing so. Our research seeks to rectify this deficit through the formulation of a new conceptual framework that measures the interaction between the operational capabilities of peacekeeping missions and the context-specific background in which the mission occurs. We draw on a novel dataset of all 32 UN PKOs since 1945 in which troops were deployed in intra-state conflict situations. Using fuzzy-set QCA, we offer new insights into what combinations of factors of UN capabilities brought to bear in particular conflict situations are likely to lead to successful outcomes of PKOs.
